Priscilla Powering on in Love
Lucy Engjadim, the founder and director of Priscilla has recently been challenged regarding some Burmese refugees in their area. She has heard many of their stories of false imprisonment and disappearances of their husbands. She has also seen exploitation by rich Indian employers as their handloom skills are put to use for minimal pay.
Despite the work or Priscilla touching the most marginalised of women in their own culture she still has a heart for these needy refugees. She writes “In a limited way, Priscilla Centre has been able to help pay towards the education fees of about 15 Burmese children for the past three years. With the income from our Production Unit, we pay the house rent for their Fellowship. Many of them when they get sick do not have any medical assistance.”
We are greatly encouraged when we see our partners going above and beyond the cause. This whole philosophy of meeting whatever needs you can with what you have been blessed with is a constant source of challenge as we with so much worry about how to hang onto it and become richer still.
Business Breaking Barriers
Business Breaking Barriers
Welcome to our spring news.
The amazing news, in the midst of the global credit crunch, is that businesses and loyal Fairtrade consumers, continue to buy and thus grow the ethical market. This sort of commitment has added great benefits to world trade, none greater than simply putting the question “have they been paid properly?” on the business agenda on a daily basis. The previously anonymous producer has moved to centre stage, as if he or she really does matter! This has seen a transformation in UK shopping that has touched every product from produce to clothing. Further, huge growth in FT sales in Switzerland, the UK, New Zealand and Australia shows that there is no slow down in these tough times. Despite this, Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation said “The scale and level of poverty worldwide demands that businesses and consumers urgently need to play their part to scale up Fairtrade," For more on her exciting challenge to businesses and all of us, read on at
http://foodbev.com/ArticleDetail.aspx?contentId=1515
For the ‘gift wrapped’ challenged
If we have one thing that we can’t be beaten on at Tribes and Nations it has to be Mignonne’s and Alison’s gift wrapping ability! Let this be our reminder to all of you, who look at a gift, vaguely remembering their mum’s words “presentation is everything” then freeze - unable to picture anything but a torn and roughly sticky taped mess! We understand, it’s okay. Use this service of ours and that mess will all be a thing of the past, your gift recipients will be happy and you’ll be relaxed! Each order will receive one item (or all together) gift wrapped with a lovely hand written message. Just let us know which gift to wrap and what to write and we’ll take the pressure off.
Pictured here is an example of one of our lovely hampers. Our standard gift wrapping style is coloured tissue and ribbon.
East Timor is back!
Great news for the East Timor devotees out there, the bean is back! The last harvest was severely curtailed by drought, various skirmishes and manhunts. The farmers were at one stage ordered off their farms, with the threat that if any surfaced from their huts that they would be shot as suspects in the attempted assassination of their leaders. Now one of the country’s main exports, coffee, can start to role out on the back of a strong harvest.
New Products at Tribes
Check out these beauties from Heed. Made or recycled packaging, you can clean up Bangladesh while you clean up on style. Placemats, bowls, and even newspaper frames brandish their green credentials all year round.
The vibrant colours of Selyn’s handloom products once again splash their way into our store.. From kids bedspreads to classy office accessories, their finishing and gift value are second to none.
Christmas hampers are once again in demand at the corporate and personal level. Why run around looking for and posting off that gift for the ‘woman/man who has everything’ when we can do all that work for you with an ethical, practical and aesthetically pleasing gift. All prices include delivery to their door.
From top left to right across then second line the same.
Create and Renew Magazine holder, Distinctions Journal, Create and Renew handbag from Heed, Croc handloom hand puppett, Zoo bedroom ensemble, Merry Christmas table cloth, Celebrate Christmas decorations, Christmas cards in batik and cross stitch from Indonesia.
There’s threads and then there’s threads
I (Grant) visit the more upmarket chain stores only when they can tempt me in with nice round figures like 50% off and the like. They look so pleasing to the Scottish eye and make you feel like you are going to go home smiling, one way or the other. It means I can confidently look at items with other round figures such as $80 or even $100 on them and do so without my heart stopping momentarily. I recently replaced one or two of my ten year old shirts with some sale items and took them home with that warm bargain glow clearly ‘on’.
The first day I wore one shirt, I noticed a few stray threads hanging off the buttons, which I promptly snipped off. The warm glow dulled the pain of this first disappointment and on I went. To read on
Alternative Trader tried
Tribes and Nations Alternative Trader is our new name for the Fair Trader package. When asked the question “Why do you sell Tribes and Nations Fair Trade?” Dianne Martin, one of our longer standing Alternative Traders says “As a Mum of a toddler and soon a baby as well, I enjoy the flexibility and stimulus of a part time business selling at markets and other events. I love that I can give dignity to some of the world's poor by selling Fair Trade.
Sourcing from Tribes and Nations makes my job easy. The ordering process is straightforward and the products are always of high quality so people love buying them”.
Catalogue Trader
Who needs Avon or Tupperware, when we can do something of significance for the Christmas stockings of Australia this year — fill them with gifts made with great effort but no sweat, care but not fear! Simply turn up at work or home with your catalogue and order sheet in hand, collect orders and money then send it off to us. We may even be able to deliver it to you that day (in Greater Sydney) so send it in. If you order over $150 (within NSW) you will receive free postage and over $300 gains you 10% off the value of the order.
